Back Roads

Winter 2025

ST. CROIX VALLEY HOBBY FARM

New outlook on life for family Page 12

• A passion for archery

• Woodland magic in Burnett County

• Scandia’s annual winter event

• Café owner owes success to quality

Back Roads

Volume 6 No. 2

Sentinel Publications

Editors

Matt Anderson

Greg Marsten

Justin Runberg

Jason Schulte

Advertising

Laura Alvarez

Darcy Jo Paulson

Sue VanBuskirk

Production

Eric Buelow

Nicole Gagner

Becki LaMar

Publisher Tom Stangl

Brick & Mortar: Anchor Point Archery ...............4

Destination: Sacred Grove ..............................8

Agriculture: St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm.....12

Local Events: Scandia Vinterfest ...................16

Food & Drink: Woodville Café .......................20

Why Back Roads?

From ambitious local farms and charming main street stores to rustic breweries and homegrown artists, we thought the towns and villages near the “Minnesconsin” border deserved a little more attention.

So, four newspaper ofﬁces worked together to bring you Back Roads, a publication we hope speaks to this rural border community in all its complexity. Our vision? To proﬁle artists, breweries, shop owners and farms from Baldwin to Grantsburg, Marine on St. Croix to Amery and everywhere in between.

This magazine is made for you and all those connected to this often-overlooked but remarkable place. We hope you like it.

Photo by Eric Buelow

Front page photo: St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm

Friends’ passion leads to small business

By Justin Runberg

Photos by Justin Runberg

Starting a business is never easy. But the pieces fall into place when you have a good group of friends and a passion for doing what you love.

That is how Anchor Point Archery began. The owners, Jerid Krueger and Dan Cain, have had a passion for archery, hunting and the outdoors for most of their life.

“I started from a kid. Dad just took us out, did hunting since I can remember pretty much. And it just stuck,” said Cain, “So I’ve been

kind of falling in love with it and that’s what I’ve been wanting to do. That’s my one and only thing that I’ve put all my, any free time I get, I try to put it into it.”

Krueger had similar feelings about enjoying his family’s land and fostering his love of hunting and being outdoors.

“We lived in that woods together. There were a lot fewer chipmunks and squirrels in those woods than there are nowadays,” said Krueger, “Because they recouped. It’s the same woods my dad grew up in doing the same crap back in the ﬁfties and sixties. But it’s just always been it. I would trade anything to

go sit in the woods. Bow hunting and even gun hunting.”

Both spoke about the experience of being out in a stand waiting for their deer to pass through. They both admitted that the rush they feel doesn’t come until they know they are going to shoot it. But the best part of their experiences is just enjoying the nature around them. When the two ﬁrst started out, they had a third friend, Steve Osero, who helped out until a few years ago. Krueger was the one who drove the idea in the ﬁrst place, some 20 years ago. At the time, he had just bought a house with a decent-sized shed. From

“

“One of my favorite sayings I have when I tell customers, ‘Archery’s only expensive if you want it to be.’ It doesn’t have to be, there are plenty of economical avenues to get into archery.”

there, the ﬁrst discussions of opening a dedicated archery pro shop started.

The goal was to have the business become a full-time job for them. And although they work their normal day jobs, they still make time to have their shop open and serving the outdoorsmen of the region. The idea was born with Krueger’s house but came to fruition with some help from the competition.

“They just kind of just threw out, ‘Hey, look for this, don’t do this’. You know, those kind of thought processes and I think that helped us ease the initial pressure,” said

Jerid Krueger

Cain, “What the heck are we doing, how do you start type of thing, you know? With three of us involved in a little bit of money that we actually did invest, it wasn’t super high risk. Other than the fact we were all in our mid, mid to late twenties. I mean, Steve and I both had kids. Jerid hadn’t had kids yet, but he was getting close. But it is what it is. You wake up one day and you either regret what you didn’t do or you do it and see how it goes, you roll the dice.”

They did not regret going for their dream. Throughout their experience, there have been some growing pains regarding expanding and

better understanding the business side of things. Through their growth, they have been able to expand into the building they are in now. However, getting into the building behind McDonald’s had them seeing more help and support from friends.

After quickly growing out of the shed, the team looked for more space for their business to grow. The third partner, Steve, had a family member that owned the building where McDonald’s is now. The other space in the building was used for ofﬁce space mostly. After moving in, the team gutted the

See Anchor Point, page 6

Anchor

Point

From page 6 ofﬁces and made it more efﬁcient for their archery pro shop. But yet again, after a few short years, they were limited in space. At around the same time, McDonald’s was knocking on Steve’s family member for the property. It was important to recognize what an asset it was to have a business supply jobs to the area and have a larger tax base. He also recognized the asset it was to have a small business with local people at the helm. He owned the lot in the back of the food chain and went to work on creating a new space for Anchor Point Archery.

Now, with over two decades of experience, it feels like time ﬂew by, with a lot of the same concepts still at play in archery today as it was years ago.

“Every year you just get thrown on the curve ball,” said Krueger. “Last year we sold piles of these, so we gear up a little bit again for the next year and we don’t hardly sell any of them. After 21 years, there’s just no insight into that crystal ball at all. It’s weird, certain things like Broadheads

obviously you’re going to cycle through a lot. That’s a more consumable side of this business.”

The one thing that truly separates these guys from others is the fact that they are an archery pro shop. Which means that they are pros at getting your archery needs met. Inside the shop is lined with broadheads, arrows, and the accessories that go with them. They also have a plethora of different bows for those wanting to hunt or just shoot for fun. They are one of two shops in the region that have a focus on archery.

Archery and hunting run through Cain’s and Krueger’s veins as they enjoy helping their customers get out and enjoy nature. A doctor in town went to them quite a few years ago to get advice on bowhunting because he was going to the mountains to bag an elk. Since then, the team has been the one he sees for his bow needs.

They encourage anyone to try it, and who knows, maybe you will have as much fun along the journey as the Anchor Point Archery team.

“One of my favorite sayings I have when I tell customers, ‘Archery’s only expensive if you want it to be.’ It

doesn’t have to be, there are plenty of economical avenues to get into archery. A lot of people think it’s a super expensive sport. Well, any sport can be expensive if you choose to make it expensive. But it does not have to be. It can be a very economical thing to get into. And we have a lot more customers than you think that just shoot, it’s not hunting. They just shoot because they enjoy shooting.”

Jerid Krueger

The Sacred Grove

Come for the labyrinth, stay for the trails and beauty

By Greg Marsten

Photos by Greg Marsten

While it’s not technically a secret, very few folks are aware of the peaceful slice of woodlands magic where meditation, solitude, reﬂection and dreams are encouraged – with a rare walking labyrinth - open year-round to the public.

Few places seem as inherently mystical as The Sacred Grove or have such a cool history.

A quarter-century strong

Now 25 years old, the unique public retreat has been a sort of solemn meditation area for people of the region, and it is worth visiting, any time of the year.

Located on a remote, 10-acre parcel in the Town of Scott in northeastern Burnett County, the serene, lightly wooded retreat once served as the home for a long-ago bachelor logger named Fred Hoerning.

While his cabin has long since faded away, the stone-lined root cellar basement from over a century ago remains as a solemn reminder of Fred’s time on Earth, generations ago.

In fact, some of the homesteaders’ rusted, twisted farming implements are also on display as a ghostly reminder of the property’s past; remnants of his horse-drawn corn binder and his spring-toothed harrow used to break up the rocky

soil stand stoically near the Scared Grove entrance, right beside a framed copy of Fred’s original, 1906 Homestead certiﬁcate from the U.S. Land Ofﬁce – signed by then-President Theodore Roosevelt!

For over a quarter century now, the Sacred Grove has served as a sort of solemn retreat, where the noise and bustle of the world sort of goes away, and the stress and anxiety of life can brieﬂy take a break.

Sporting a unique, tiny hermitage, meditation garden, multiple trails, benches, and a full-blown 2/3-mile “round-trip” labyrinth unlike anything around.

The effort to create the Sacred Grove began in 1999, when Lucy Basler and her late husband, Pat, purchased the property adjacent to their home. The couple quickly fell in love with the property, and working with volunteers tirelessly to create the Grove, they crafted a maze of trails that skate among wetlands, open groves, the labyrinth, meadows, towering trees,

and past the late Mr. Hoerning’s former home and barn where only a few cool clues remain.

It’s a sort of sacred, joyful, private-journey theme park - with no lines to wait in for the attractions.

The labyrinth is key

When the Basler’s first planned and began the Grove, the Labyrinth was paramount and a central undertaking, with a meticulous, one-third of a mile pathway, all leading to a magnificent center stone - which the whole maze was created around. Lined in colorful field stones, the pathway uses sawdust and foot traffic to stay weedfree.

Once you reach the center, a peaceful rest on the stone is in order, before you embark on another 1/3-mile “return journey” back out.

Okay, okay, one can TECHNICALLY walk across the labyrinth, but that’s not the point.

“The goal of walking the labyrinth is to connect with God (or

your Higher Power),” the Sacred Grove founders noted. “One of the by-products of walking the labyrinth is transformation. The key to getting the most out of your walk is to remain open.”

The Peter Rabbit Stone

Beside the labyrinth are multiple picnic tables, chairs and artistic, colorful ﬂags with Sanskrit and English poems, artwork and phrases.

There is also a guest book, where guests are encouraged to share their thoughts on the Sacred Grove, life, and how it made them feel – as well as favorite part of the ten-acre oasis.

There is also a place for children to sit and hear a story of “Peter Rabbit” from a laminated story book, while sitting on “The Peter Rabbit Stone,” which has a history, with past as well. (Visit to read the background, with a youngster, maybe.)

stay on the property, are cleaned up after, and don’t chase the wildlife.

The hermitage calls

The trails at the Grove are numerous and easy to traverse, mowed in the warm months and open year-round.

Plans are coming to expand the trails even further, as more of the ten-acre property is explored and celebrated.

There are little highlights along the trails past the labyrinth, wetlands, “Peter Rabbit Stone” and memorial trees. The magic continues further down the line, at the Hermitage – known as the ‘Athani House II.’

And speaking of mammals, dogs are allowed at the Grove, if they

The Athani House II is a charming little one-room cabin with an enclosed, skeeter-proof porch. Keep in mind, there are NO UTILITIES, no water, power or Wi-Fi is found anywhere on the property, even at the

See Sacred Grove, page 10

From page 9

Hermitage up atop the hill. There is a separate pathway with a pit toilet and campﬁre ring for overnight guests only, with clearance from the Board of Directors.

The tiny cabin is a shining example of sparklingly simple minimalism and is meant to be a sort of meditative retreat - for people who may need it most.

According to the original

Grove charter and history, the ‘Athani House II’ name comes from stone parapets in India that are nearly six feet tall, called “athani.”

Historically, these athani were found along country roads, giving market goers a place to take ﬁve, setting down their giant bundles of produce, grains, or critters - to rest before continuing their journey home.

The little hermitage is faithful to the tale.

“One of the by-products of walking the labyrinth is transformation. The key to getting the most out of your walk is to remain open.”

Lucy Basler

Skidders trails and remnants

Past the hermitage is another set of trails, one of which heads to a serene and respectful Meditation Garden, complete with a very large Buddha statue, commemorative trinkets and art, and a place to reﬂect on loss - as many memorials, signatures and mementos are left.

The remoteness of the Grove means countless birds, squirrels, deer, and other small critters are a common site or sound, overshadowing the soft bustle of the woods and underbrush.

Continuing on, the trail follows the remnants of old Fred’s former logging road, on what’s called “The Ridge Walk.” The road was used for skidding hundreds of board of feet of old growth lumber a century ago, but now follows the remaining ridge downhill to Mr. Hoerning’s former

homestead, which dates to at least 1905.

All that remains is the basement/root cellar, hand dug over 120 years ago, and lined with a meticulous variety of similar local stones, even Fred’s stone stairs survived the centuries.

Parts of his old well also remain, but the founders never did ﬁnd the original outhouse location, despite years of searching … or avoiding.

When trees were giants

The Sacred Grove is home to a menagerie of woods, with all ﬂavors of trees, including aspen, oak, birch and a handful of massive, old growth red and white pines that survived logging, centuries of storms, ﬁre and weather - the duo of skyward pines is referred to as “The Couple,” that the Basler’s

called “the grandparents of the Grove.”

Park benches are placed at perfect spots for views of wetlands, the labyrinth, “The Couple” trees, and there’s even a bench to marvel at a bristled, long ago felled giant pine that was left in place - continuing to ﬁght the elements and time, sleeping like Paul Bunyan’s discarded holiday spruce.

Fred’s former barn has only some foundation stones remaining, but they serve as the base for a gathering and picnic area.

On your way out, you’ll pass Fred’s old farm implements, not going anywhere, with half a century of trees growing out.

The trails are not plowed, but the parking lot is usually cleared for a snowshoe or ski adventure, but no motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed.

Chartres-style

The labyrinth is the marquis part of the Sacred Grove and is not very common in Wisconsin, let alone this region.

Labyrinths can be found through history at many places in the world, going back at least 6,000 years. Originally found on the Isle of Crete, they were used for walking meditation, as well as quiet reﬂection.

“Walking the labyrinth is a meditative experi-

ence and can be used for slowing down your life, or for gaining clarity to help make right decisions. Some are calmed and some are energized. It’s unique to each person. But it is a tool to help one delve deeper inside themselves,” co-founder Lucy Basler said.

Going back to the Crusades, the labyrinth was used as a safe, symbolic way to offer a religious pilgrimage at the notable Chartres Cathedral in France - home to the world’s most famous labyrinth … at least for now.

How to ﬁnd it:

Sacred Grove is located at 27802 Thompson Road—off County Road

A between Webster and Spooner. The Grove is open year-round, and all are welcome.

It is free to the public, but donations are encouraged to keep it going into perpetuity. Make it cleaner than when you left and enjoy its gifts.

For information, to donate or to assist with volunteer efforts, text or call 715-566-3847.

Scared Grove has been incorporated, so the property will stay public into perpetuity. It is a certiﬁed non-proﬁt 501(c)3, so donations are tax deductible.

From ashes to animals

St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm offers redemption for Osceola family

By Matt Anderson

Photos Contributed

Ahobby farm was not something Osceola resident Andy Flater and his family anticipated creating in 2023. They lived a typical life with Andy working out of state, and his wife Rebecca staying home with

their three daughters Mylah, Brynn and Ava. But after a life-changing event nearly took everything from them, St. Croix Valley Hobby farm would become a new path that would reconnect Flater with his wife and kids and provide them with a new outlook on life.

The Flaters currently live in Osceola but lived in many states prior because of Andy’s work. In and out of state for more than a decade, he worked in the oil and gas industry, spending weeks away at a time. Struggling with homesickness, he was trying to ﬁnd a new career path, but was uncertain of what that new path might be.

“It was our way of life,” said Rebecca. “It’s kind of how we had always done things. We had three kids in three different states. One in

Pittsburgh, one in North Dakota, and then we had a baby in Wyoming. So, we traveled a lot and moved around a lot too.”

Andy became increasingly weary as he continued to work, leading him to ﬁnd a work schedule that allowed him to spend more time at home. While on one of his work trips in another state he attempted to make his exit. But the event that would change the course of their lives was just around the corner.

“I was thinking about a way to get out of the oil and gas industry,” Andy said. “Little did we know that a house ﬁre would be coming for us when I was in West Virginia.”

While Andy was in West Virginia, he was on a schedule that would keep him from home for 50 days at a time. He told his employer at

the time that he would ﬁnish out his 50 days before moving back to another employer with a better schedule for him and his family. He was on day 42 when he received the phone call that would change everything.

“It was about a 20-minute ride back to the hotel where I stayed and I called my wife,” Andy recalled. “Then I started getting all kinds of glass breaking on our alarm system. I just thought it was on the fritz again, but it seemed a little more unusual than normal. All the sudden, my wife was calling. I answered and said, ‘What are you

calling for? I just talked to you.’

“She was hysterical, screaming and crying. I could hear sirens. It was terrifying and it still is. I just cared about where the kids were. I was yelling, ‘Where are the kids?’ And she couldn’t really speak… I thought the worst. It was probably only 10 or 15 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I was ﬁnally just screaming, ‘Just tell me! Just tell me where they’re at!’ Finally, she got it out and said they were at the neighbors. That was a huge relief from my chest.”

While Rebecca and their three daughters were at home, a lit candle tipped over in their basement

starting the fire that would destroy their home. Thankfully, all of them made it out of the home unharmed, but they lost almost everything else. An ongoing dispute with their insurance provider after the fire made things even more difficult, ultimately forcing their hand to move on and find another path.

After the ﬁre, Andy did some soul searching, thinking of ways he could ﬁnd work that would keep him closer to his family. Little did he know that a simple conversation at Light Up Osceola would spark the change he was looking for.

See Hobby Farm, page 14

The Flaters have taken on a new adventure in their lives opening the St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm after a house ﬁre nearly took everything from them.

left to right are

Pictured

Andrew Flater, Mylah Flater, Ava Flater, Brynn Flater, and Rebecca Flater.

Hobby Farm

From page 13

“We were at Light up Osceola and Little Blue’s Traveling Zoo is there every year,” Flater said.

“My oldest two and my wife are at the Cascade Nutrition’s hot chocolate van and my little one and I are over by the animal pen. She’s inside petting the animals, and I’m laying up against the gate. I talked to Ron Dabill, the owner, and he was telling me about his business.”

After his conversation with Dabill, the seed for St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm was planted. But Andy still needed to return to work. However, after the years of being away from home and the ﬁre that could have taken his family from him, he reached a breaking point. At the moment he was supposed to board one more plane to leave the state, he instead turned around.

“I hear them talking about closing the door and something just shoots through me,” he said. “I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’” An airline representative spoke with Andy while he was struggling. For him, it was just one more sign to take another route for his career and his family. “I’m an emotional wreck at this point,” he said. “I’ve got some tears coming down my face. She grabs my hands, and starts praying for me… I didn’t understand at the time, but it was a path that I was about to be put on.”

Having made a ﬁnal decision to stay in Osceola with his family, Flater remembered his conversation with Dabill at Light Up Osceola. He reached out again, this time asking for guidance as to how he could start his own business. When Dabill agreed to mentor him, Andy and Rebecca decided to take a chance at opening what would become St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm.

“It was just us kind of sitting down saying, ‘Hey, let’s take a leap of faith,’” said Andy. “Ron really likes us. We like that family. We like what they do. So, we sat there and it just kind of snowballed. As crazy as it sounds, we thought at the time it was too.”

After searching for the right property and some helpful guidance from Dabill, the Flaters ofﬁcially opened the St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm in December 2023 on Highway 35 in Osceola. Since then, their business has grown considerably, inviting everyone from the St. Croix Valley to enjoy a variety of animals, corn mazes, scavenger hunts, and more. They are also planning to add a variety of winter activities in the coming years to keep the fun going in the colder months.

“It was just us kind of sitting down saying, ‘Hey, let’s take a leap of faith,’”

Andy Flater

Not only has St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm provided a new business for the Osceola area that gives visitors a place to relax, have fun and escape from the stresses of their daily lives, but it also reconnected Andy to his family in a way that they hadn’t imagined before. For Rebecca, Brynn, Ava, and Mylah, having Andy at home with them is a welcome change thanks to the leap of faith they took in opening St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm.

“To have him home now is a

totally different thing,” said Rebecca. “Now we have a business and different family dynamics too. I think we looked at the ﬁre as a tragedy, but I think it ultimately was a blessing for our family and hopefully for our community as well.”

“We just wanted to make a place that people can enjoy and get away from life for a little while because we know more than anybody how crazy it is,” said Andy. “If we can help people out, we deﬁnitely want to, because the community

really stepped up when our ﬁre happened. It was incredible to see the support that they gave us, so I want a chance to give that back to this area.”

More information about the St. Croix Valley Hobby Farm can be found at https://stcroixvalleyhobbyfarm.com/. Those interested in visiting or hiring services can contact info@stcroixvalleyhobbyfarm.com, or call 715-417-3064.

Twenty years of Vinterfest

Celebrating the winter season in Scandia

By Matt Anderson

Photos contributed

In the quaint, Swedish-settled City of Scandia, you’re not likely to ﬁnd barren streets with those who live there huddled inside to avoid the cold in winter. Instead, Scandia residents and visitors embrace it, coming together to enjoy Vinterfest, a decades-long tradition of celebrating the winter cold, enjoying each other’s company, and participating in a host of fun “Vinter” activities at the end of January every year.

“It’ll be our 20th year,” said longtime Vinterfest coordinator and volunteer Greg Zauner. “When I ﬁrst came across it, it was basically just a chili cookoff contest. It was all done by the park committee. I joined the park committee and kind of thought, ‘We need to do something better.’ At the time we had another creative person, Pam Arnold, and the two of us, got things going to another level with her creativity.”

Since its early days of starting as a smaller get-together chili cookoff, Vinterfest has turned into one of the largest events in Scandia, hosting thousands of kids and adults alike over the years to enjoy sledding, decorations, bean-bag competitions, face-painting, plenty of good food and scavenger hunts - just to name a few of the many things that Vinterfest has included over the years. “It’s a growing thing,” said

Scandia Elementary Students design special buttons every year to be proudly worn by guests at Vinterfest. The 2025 button design winner was Charli Tate.

Zauner. “We’re always learning and adding things.”

One of the key pieces of Vinterfest is the annual hockey tournament, once aptly named the “Scanley Cup.” Now known as the “Minnesotan Cup Hockey Tournament,” Vinterfest attendees gather in Wojtowicz Skating Park in Scandia to watch a number of skilled hockey teams battle it out for the coveted Minnesotan Cup. Thanks to owner of The Minnesotan in White Bear Lake, Corey Roberts, the hockey tournament has become one of the biggest events in Scandia year after year.

“Corey Roberts joined the park committee,” said Zauner. “He came to us and said he’d been trying to get some kind of a hockey tournament going in Forest Lake and the ice was either bumpy or bad and it just wasn’t happening. He heard about our nicely Zamboni groomed rink and asked if they could have a tournament there. And I thought that would be great to add to Vinterfest.”

But putting together a hockey tournament isn’t a simple affair. It’s more like an art. Every year, Scandia City workers need to wait for the right conditions to ready the rink for gametime. In the 2023-2024 “Winter that never was,” record warm conditions halted he much-anticipated Minnesotan Cup. Thankfully for Vinterfest attendees, typical winter conditions for Vinterest 2025 event have made the annual tournament possible, thanks to a little hard work from public works, Roberts, Zauner, and everyone else who makes Vinterfest possible.

“They actually wait for the frost to

See Vinterfest, page 18

“Putting it together and ﬁnding good people to work with… it just kind of branches off in all different directions, which is kind of nice and I try to bring something new every year.”

Greg Zauner

Vinterfest

From page 17 get down to a certain level before they flood it,” said Zauner. “Otherwise, it melts from the bottom up. That’s when they determine when to flood it. Our public works guys keep track of it, so whenever they see a nice cold snap coming, especially if it’s getting close they’ll try to flood it as much as possible so we can keep good ice for the hockey tournament.”

And Vinterfest is always improving year after year. The 20th anniversary will hold the Minnnesotan Cup Hockey Tournament on a brand-new rink for the ﬁrst time; a signiﬁcant improvement from the rink the City of Scandia has used for many years.

“We got a new rink last year - a new used rink,” said Zauner. “It’s the practice rink from the Colorado Avalanche. Our old rink was an indoor rink we got from a city in Minnesota. it was all wood and rotting away and it was never meant to be outside. But this one is an outdoor rink and made of aluminum. Hopefully, it lasts many more years.”

The hockey tournament is just one of the many unique “vinter” activities to enjoy at Vinterfest. Zauner and everyone else involved in organizing the event have continually added more interesting things to attend including fire dancers, clogging competitions, the popular snow sculpting competitions, and even fireworks. “We have fireworks in of the heart of winter,” said Zauner. “I can’t think of many other events where you get to see something like that.”

And not only has Vinterfest brought people together from inside and outside the Scandia community, but it also provides a beneﬁt to the businesses in Scandia who are happy to see additional patrons walk through their door. “It really helps the local businesses out,” said Zauner. “It’s not just locals, which is nice. We’re pulling people from the cities and wherever - especially for the hockey tournament. And a lot of them will come and ﬁnd a place to eat and stuff. You can’t hardly walk around Meisters.”

Over the last 20 years, Vinterfest has continued to be a growing staple event in the Scandia community. Many hands go into bringing the annual event together, and although it has changed over the years, the spirit of Vinterfest remains the same: bringing the Scandia community together to celebrate the winter months in style. For Zauner, the park committee, The Gammelgården Museum, Scandia-Marine Lions, and a host of other participants in making the event successful, the best part is, “Just seeing it come together,” said Zauner. “Putting it together and ﬁnding good people to work with, like partnering up with the Scandia Heritage Alliance, and Gammelgården for the last maybe three years… It just kind of branches off in all different directions, which is kind of nice and I try to bring something new every year.”

Greg Zauner

A source of pride

Woodville Café owner talks about being honored

By Jason Schulte

Photos Contributed

The Woodville Café was named Best Breakfast and Pie in the recent Baldwin Bulletin

‘Best Of’ voting for the ﬁfth year in a row.

“It is a source of pride,” owner Hattie Freshwater said. She stated there is no big secret to their success.

“Over the years, we’ve found good quality stuff to use. And we have good people who know how to cook things and provide good service.”

Freshwater bought the business two years ago from

her parents, Don and Patty Larson.

“I was 15 when they bought it,” she said, joking that it had become her second home during those years.

She started washing dishes and then learned how to cook from her mother.

“Over the years, I have done everything, and I like doing both,” she said.

Woodville Café is currently open 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Fridays, 6 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sundays.

“On the weekends, it’s been a full house,” she said, noting people are waiting for them to open, especially on Sundays. “People no longer care about waiting 15-20 minutes for a table. We’ve had three different groups sitting at a table together.”

Woodville Café can’t expand as a big table used

See Café, page 22

Hattie Freshwater (middle) surrounded by J.R. Dachel (left) and Kayla Buck (right) during a recent Woodville Lions event.

From page 21 used for seating is part of the apartment complex next door on Main Street.

“If we could ﬁnd more help, maybe,” Freshwater replied when asked about hours expanding. “We have really good people that have been here a long time. It’s hard to ﬁnd people that consistently show up and are good at their jobs.”

Freshwater estimated that between eight and nine people are working there.

“Some are just weekend people, some are during the week,” she continued. “Over the year, we’ve had many different family and friends willing to help if we need it.”

Increased recognition for the Café came when it was proﬁled in Our Wisconsin magazine last December, with visitors still showing up months later.

The pies are homemade. Their greatest selling point is around Thanksgiving when 80 to 90 whole pies are sold.

“Apple is obviously a big hit,” she said, noting additional favorites such as raspberry cream cheese, banana crème and pumpkin.

The Friday night hours are for their ﬁsh fry, another big hit with the customers.

“People like the homestyle type dinners,” she continued, along with the Thursday turkey dinners. Freshwater is also a member of the Woodville Lions Club.